For all those who didn’t perform well in college, don’t want to perform well in college, aren’t willing to go back to grad school to give yourself a second chance, and like to make excuses for not trying harder, you’re in for a real treat! It’s clear from the comments in my article “Examples of Good Resumes That Get Jobs,” that your GPA doesn’t matter. As someone who has participated in the hiring of dozens of individuals all these years, I’ve got it all wrong and I’m glad you called me out on it.

I’d like to think of myself as a very flexible person who sees both sides of the equation. Hence, in this post, I want to highlight why your GPA doesn’t matter at all, and why you should feel confident in never putting your GPA on your resume. Working hard is overrated and employers are certainly looking for as many C and B students out there as they are A students.

With cashed up corporate balance sheets and strong earnings growth, employment levels continue to improve across America in 2015. The latest unemployment rate has declined to 5.7% as of March 1, 2015. Meanwhile, the number of long-term unemployed fell 300,000, the sharpest drop in 2½ years, to 3.5 million.

It’s in the first half where ideally all hiring shall be done because: 1) The best available people are still available. There is a bias against people looking in the 3rd and 4th quarter because rightly or wrongly, companies will be wondering what’s wrong with you for not having found something earlier; 2) Companies need to spend their budgets while they are still available. There’s no time like the present; 3) Hiring an employee at the start of the year gets the most out of the employee, especially if there is a guaranteed compensation package.

If you find yourself looking for a job in the second half of the year, it’s important to hustle a little more or prepare for activity to pick up in the spring. Don’t give up home. Use this time to plan more thoroughly.

I’ve seen over 7,000 resumes in my career and hopefully this article and subsequent articles linked within can help you out. An excellent resume should be standard.

THE IMPORTANCE OF AN UPDATED RESUME

Yale law professor and mother of two Amy Chua penned an incredibly fascinating article entitled, “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior” on the WSJ. Professor Chua is a first generation American who went to Harvard undergrad and then to Harvard Law School. As a tenured professor teaching at the most prestigious law school in the world, I feel for her kids first and foremost! Think about all the expectations that are put on them since her husband, Jeb, is also a tenured law professor at Yale.

Let’s say you had parents who walked 10 miles to school every day. Do you think there’s a snowball’s chance in hell that you will have a car in high school? You might, but you’d feel guilty every time you get behind the wheel and your parents will likely remind you as well. In the end, you’d probably compromise and either bike to work, have your parents drop you off, or walk yourself.

Here’s a non-offensive excerpt from her article where she justifies calling kids names such as “lazy”, “fatty”, “worthless”, “stupid”, and “disgraces” when they aren’t performing up to par:

“As a parent, one of the worst things you can do for your child’s self-esteem is to let them give up. On the flip side, there’s nothing better for building confidence than learning you can do something you thought you couldn’t.” Amy Chua

I agree with her quote, but I definitely don’t agree with calling one’s kids names to shame them into conforming. The main issue I have with Amy’s view is that she pits Asian mothers against “Western Mothers” who are by default deemed inferior. I would be incredibly insulted if I was a Western Mother because who is Amy to impose her dictator-like ways on me. Amy talks in stereotypes all article long about how Asian children always seem to be gifted in math & sciences and music. Amy argues that it is in fact no coincidence since Asian mothers are such master motivators and disciplinarians.

For all you whipper snappers out there who think school is a waste of time, good grades are a waste of effort, and working towards a great career is for losers, you might be right! It’s all about being a nonconformist right here, right now. You can live the life of your dreams on your own terms, or at least that’s what everyone is saying nowadays.

Watch one of the all time classic scenes from The Cosby Show where Dr. Huxtable asks his son, Theo how he expects to get into college and earn a living with poor grades. What transpires is one of the most hilarious interactions ever! In this 4 minute clip, you’ll learn everything you need to know about minimalism, relationships, budgeting, work, taxes, career, love, and happiness.

It’s absolutely perfect to be a regular person so long as you are happy. There’s no need to be successful in anything you do frankly. So long as you are satisfied with what you have and the direction you’re heading, that’s all that matters.

There are too many people telling you what you should and should not do. Forget about it! Do as you damn please, because regular people rock. Just don’t let the Dr. Huxtables of the world slap any sense into you. They don’t know what they’re talking about because you’ve got it all figured out.

Readers, are you afraid to try because you’re afraid your brain is going to explode and ooze out of your ears? Is what Theo says in the end really “the dumbest thing you’ve ever heard!”?

A lot of people still don’t believe there’s a high correlation between good grades and work life success. Could it be that those who poo poo good grades as unnecessary are the ones who didn’t get good grades themselves? Let’s imagine for the next couple seconds poor grades are poor indicators of success, even though for the first 22 years of your life, they are used in every aspect of progress. Now that you’ve had your couple seconds, let’s snap back to reality.

Here you are, about to graduate college with a mediocre “B” average and you’re getting shot down during interviews left and right, assuming you are getting any. From the employer’s perspective, they can interview from any number of schools, each with a plethora of “A” students, so why bother with you? Your stubborn self still holds on to the belief that grades don’t matter, because you know you’re going to be a star some day.

FOUR WAYS NOT TO LET POOR GRADES KEEP YOU DOWN

The following is a guest post by a regular reader who just turned 30. Hope you guys enjoy and help her share in her thoughts!

So often we let society overly influence how we feel and act. I could go on for hours about topics like body image, nutrition, and politics but for now let’s just touch on age and children.

Maybe I’m on my own in this, but it annoys me that society teaches us that couples should raise a family once they’re married. While I have no ill feelings towards you wonderful parents out there, it frustrates me that I still find myself doubting my lack of interest in having kids because it’s abnormal, against the grain.

This is a guest post by Paul Williams from Provident Planning. He’s a fee-only financial planner in Lancaster County, PA, and regularly writes about personal finance from a Christian perspective. If you want to become a CFP®, he’d be happy to talk with you.

I was excited when Sam invited me to write a guest post for Financial Samurai on how to become a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM (CFP®). I’ll finally finish the requirements in Novemeber 2010 and be eligible to call myself a CFP® after I fill out the last bit of paperwork.

Sam mentioned he’d like to become a CFP® after he retires from his job, so he’s curious about what he’d have to do. I’m sure some of you might also be interested in becoming a financial planner if you’ve got a strong interest in personal finance.

This post is going to be about the process of becoming a CFP® rather than deciding if you should even become a CFP®. That’s a very different question and one you should have an answer to before you start the process of becoming a CFP®. It’s certainly not a cheap certification to get (in money or time).

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